Twitter's Square - Solution For Small Business Owners

Twitter founder and creator, Jack Dorsey, is venturing into another lucrative business space - credit card payment devices. Dorsey's company recently launched a prototype of a small credit card reading device called Square that users can plug into their iPhones or iPod touch.This pocket size gadget can scan credit cards and process payments. Buyers, on the other hand, can receive receipts through email or text.

Square was developed with small business owners in mind.Flower shops, food kiosks, accessory stalls, and other business models that normally do not have the capability to process card payments would benefit a lot from this Twitter product.Businesses would be able to open another untapped revenue stream which could be highly lucrative and profitable to them in the long run.Another possibility looming for Square is personal payments like colleagues or friends having to receive or make payments.For example, someone sold his friend a second hand video game title, with Square it is no longer necessary for actual money to change hands.All it takes for the transaction to be completed is for the seller to wave his friend's credit card on the Square and the deal's done. Another additional novelty with friend-to-friend transactions is that there's an inherent heightened element of trust between and among friends.

Square has been on a trial run and the reviews are encouraging.Acceptance to the device by both merchants and buyers in general is positive and kind. Cherry Mims is the owner of a flower shop near the San Francisco office of Square and was one of those selected to participate in the test run of Twitter's new card reading device.She and her businessman friends operate small stalls in an open market located in a plaza. Mims uses her iPod touch to activate Square and gets her Internet connection from a WiFi spot near her flower kiosk.

She's fascinated with the Square's capabilities as she is able to sell to a broader market.She has seen her business grow with the use of this revolutionary device.Mims observes that a lot of customers do not carry a lot of cash with them, and before, small business owners like them were not able to fully penetrate this market segment.However, with Square, Mims is able to sell her products and goods easier and faster.

One thing that Mims find surprising is how trusting customers can be with their credit cards.Even if the Square is just a beta version of a commercial product that is yet to be launched, cardholders seem to not be worried about the risk of fraud or identity theft, and willingly hand over their cards to her.

Bryant Park

Bryant Park is a financial consultant for one of the companies listed on Wall Street. He writes on a variety of topics ranging from credit cards to different loans that can be availed by consumers. He holds a bachelor degree in Financial Services from Dartmouth College.